Posts by Betsy Schwarzentraub
Rallying Stories and More
This week I relished listening to Rebekah Burch Basinger in this month’s “Author Chat” done by the Ecumenical Stewardship Center. 1 She is the co-author of the classic, Growing Givers’ Hearts: Treating Fundraising as Ministry. Part of her conversation was about what it would mean for abundance to be the stewardship model in people’s lives,…
Read MoreDimensions of Stewardship
Stewardship is the way we manage all that God has entrusted to us. Which stewardship dimensions are strengths in your church? In which areas would you like to grow? What would you want to teach? Stewardship of Lifestyle and of the Environment Caring for the earth and all creatures; finding a balance between work and…
Read MoreIncrease Giving in Your Church
With the New Year upon us, now is an excellent time to look at the overall strategies of your congregation to encourage generous giving. Thankfully the Spirituality and Giving Project 1 studied 1,157 churches of more than two dozen denominations related to what motivates members to give, and what influences them to increase their giving.…
Read MoreWhite Helmets in Syria
Generosity reaches a whole new level when your life is on the line – and when you’re saving someone else’s life at the literal risk of your own. That’s what the “White Helmets” are doing every day in Syria, as they voluntarily rush in after the bombs have hit. The rescuers don’t care about a…
Read MoreSmartphone Addictions
Technology has made so many things possible, with literally global access to knowledge and information. I was stunned years ago, when I first had the chance to go on the Internet. At that time I was working on my doctoral thesis – and got into thirteen libraries around the world in a half-hour’s time, all…
Read MoreSurprise Generosity
Twenty dollars is a lot of money to my good friend, whom I’ll call Joan. She was homeless many years ago, and for decades lived financially on the edge, working multiple jobs as she found them and creating her own businesses whenever possible. With a family gift to help with a down payment a long…
Read More“Stewardship and Culture” course
I’m excited to teach an online course on “Stewardship and Culture: Building Contagious Generosity” this next Jan. 9 through Feb. 11. Registration will be open beginning in December at transformingthechurch.org. The class will feature four audio-video presentations, an interactive online Class Forum, and four weekly live conference calls on Saturdays, Jan. 21 and 28 and…
Read MoreEncouraging Generativity
Stephen Post and Jill Neimark wrote a fascinating book called Why Good Things Happen to Good People. It shares some exciting scientific research proving a connection between doing good and living a longer, healthier, happier life. In it, one new discovery for me was generativity. Apparently the term generativity was first used by psychologist Erik…
Read MoreDon’t Panic
“Don’t panic” was a key phrase early in my life with personal computers. It was the Post-It Note message I stuck on my monitor, back when I wasn’t sure the computer had stored something as soon as it left the screen. I’d almost forgotten that phrase until earlier this month, when I discovered I would…
Read MoreBeyond “Don’t Panic”
“Don’t panic” was a key phrase early in my life with personal computers. It was the Post-It Note message I stuck on my monitor, back when I wasn’t sure the computer had stored something as soon as it left the screen. I’d almost forgotten that phrase until earlier this month, when I discovered I would…
Read MoreGenerosity Rising
Book Review by The Rev. Rosanna Anderson From http://www.umcdiscipleship.org, July 3, 2016 Generosity Rising: Lead a Stewardship Revolution in Your Church by Scott McKenzie (Abingdon Press, 2016) What is a “stewardship revolution”? A revolution in giving comes from renewed stewardship commitment by a leadership team filled with people whose hearts and lives reflect financially-dedicated discipleship.…
Read MoreUltimate Security
The fire season: it’s summer once again. Fire is the only potentially terrifying aspect of living in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The photo here is of the fire now burning above us, its southern edge currently seven aerial miles north of our home. Thankfully it is moving in the opposite direction, although at the moment…
Read MoreWhat Stuff Means
In The Power of Enough: Finding Contentment by Putting Stuff in Its Place, Lynn Miller has a great exercise for our personal reflection. It goes like this (my paraphrases): For each word on this list, write down what it means to you. There are no wrong answers. House Car Salary Food Clothes Cash Savings Retirement…
Read MoreBeauty and Gratitude
Looking up, I watch the high, bright clouds slide smoothly across e. e. cummings’ “blue, true dream of sky.” What beauty God makes with creation! Gratitude gives us solid ground to stand on, but as long-armed as it is, it can never reach as far as God’s grace extends. Like the clouds, I want to…
Read MoreThe Problem with Seekers
There was a trend among church leaders years ago to call non-church-goers “seekers.” It seemed like a polite term at the time: better than “the unchurched,” anyway. The problem is that “seekers” implied that members of the opposite group are “finders,” as if people who have found a church home aren’t seekers anymore. “Finders” sounds…
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